1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the molding of edible products, and more particularly to a technique for molding pieces of popcorn candy having different geometric shapes that are interfittable, making it possible to integrate the pieces to create decorative figures or art objects which are both displayable and edible.
2. Prior Art
The term "popcorn" refers to kernels of various hybrids of corn, such as Indian corn, which on exposure to heat burst open to form a white, starchy mass. When such kernels are heated, the moisture trapped therein is volatilized to produce a positive pressure which ruptures the internal structure of the kernel.
Home-use devices are available on the market for popping corn. These fall broadly into two classes--"wet" poppers, which utilize a liquid agent or cooking oil as the popping medium, and "dry" poppers employing a stream of hot air for the same purpose.
In the context of the present invention, "dry" poppers are preferable, for these are available at modest cost as home units produced commercially by such manufacturers as Hamilton-Beach, Wear-Ever and Sunbeam. Apart from the fact that "dry" poppers require no cooking oil is the further advantage that they operate much faster than "wet" poppers. Such units convert a batch of unpopped kernels into a stream of hot popcorn that is discharged into a bowl or other receptacle.
Among the patents which disclose hot-air corn poppers are the U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,648,005 (Pritchard); 3,294,546 (Green), 3,323,440 (Grant) and 3,665,839 (Gottlieb).
It is known to use popcorn rather than nuts to form a caramel candy. This is done by cooking a blend of sugar, water, corn syrup and butter to carmelize the sugar, the resultant hot, creamy fluid then being poured over a batch of freshly prepared popcorn and allowed to cool to form a nutritious carmel corn which has an amorphous form. It is also known to produce chocolate or other candies in figurative forms, but such forms are created at the factory and do not reflect the skill or taste of the purchaser.